Improvement in lanterns



W. PORTER.

. Lantrn.

No. 39,586; Patented Aug. 18. 1863;

' Inventor:

N. PETERS, Phnm-Lngn n har. Washington. D. c,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

WILLIAM PORTER, or NEW YORK," N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT lN LANTERNS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 39,586, dated August18, 1863.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM PORTER, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Lanterns; and Ido hereby declare that the fol lowing is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is anelevation of a lantern constructed aceordin g to my invention; Fig. 2, avertical central section ofthe lower part of the same, to which myimprovement is applied.

V Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the twofigures.

This invention consists in an improved manner of securing or fitting thecap or lamp-top in the body of the lamp, whereby the usual screw forthat purpose is avoided and the shaft of the wick-adj usting mechanismalways brought in a proper position toadmit of the lamp being fitted orsecured in the lantern without any ditficulty whatever.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct myinvention, I will proceed to describe it. 7

A represents the glass portion of a lantern, B the metal cap or top, 0the guards, and D the metal rim at the bottom of the glass A.

E'is alamp, which is secured to a base, F, having a cylinder, G,attached to it concentric with the lamp, and of such diameter as toreceive the rim D at the bottom of the glass A. The upper edge of thecylinder G has two notches, a a, made in it at opposite points,

These notches are vertical at their upper parts. and curved at theirlower parts, as shownin Fig. l, and they receive two horizontal pins, 1)b, which are attached to the rim D. To the outer side of the cylinder Gthere is attached an elastic plate, H, which has a hole, 0, to receiveone of the pins 1). This spring or elastic plate H serves as a catch tohold the pins in the notches a, and insure a proper connection of thecylinder G, and consequently of the lamp E, to the lantern.

I represents the cap of the lamp, in which the wick-tube J is secured.This wick-tube is flat, and the cap has a horizontal shaft, K, fitted init, on which a' notched or serrated wheel, L, is fitted, said wheelworking through a slot in the wick-tube, as usual. The shaft K issufficiently long to project beyond the rim D, and fits in a notch, d,in the upper edge of the cylinder G, when the rim D is fittedin G. Bythis means the wick M may raised'and lowered Without detaching the lampfrom the lantern. The cap I is not screwed into a socket in the lamp, asis usually done, but is fitted into a socket, N, provided with aleather, cork, or other suitable ring, 0, into which the lowerpart,f,ofthecaplisfitted. (Seell ig. 2.) The ring 6 serves as a packingto fit snugly to the part f of the cap, and insure a tight or snug fit.The advantage of this arrangement over the screw-cap is that the cap inmy improvement may be fitted or shoved directly intoits socket N withthe shaft K in line with or directly over the notch d in the upper edgeofthe cylinder G, whereas when a screw cap is used it is frequentlydifficult to bring the shaft K over the notch d and have thecap screwedtightly into the socket.

This invention does not augment the cost of the construction of thelantern-that is to say, lanterns maybe constructed with my improvementequally as cheap as the ordinary kind.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is.

The socket N, provided with a ring, a, of leather, cork, or othersuitable material, in connection with the smooth cylindrical part f ofthe cap I, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

WM. PORTER.

Witnesses B0B. H. LOUDEN, Geo. W. REED,

